St Joseph's Church is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Newbury, Berkshire, England, part of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church that covers the Channel Islands as well as parts of England (Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and parts of Berkshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire). The ep ...

. It is noted for its historic

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, built from 1926 to 1928 in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...

. It is located on the corner of London Road and Western Avenue north of the town centre. According to

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

, which awarded it Grade II listed status in May 2023, the church is a "major local landmark".

Newbury - St Joseph
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 2 May 2022

History

Foundation

In 1852, from St Mary's Church in Woolhampton, a Fr Robert Hodgson started a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

in Newbury. In 1853, he bought a house in Newbury, 105 London Road and the surrounding land for construction of a new church. The house became both a presbytery and a small school. In 1864, a small church was built next to the house, at a cost of £800.

West Berkshire Council West Berkshire Council is the local authority of West Berkshire in Berkshire, England. The council was created in 1974 as Newbury District Council, and was a lower-tier district council until 1998. The district was renamed West Berkshire on 1 Ap ...

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Newbury
''West Berkshire Historic Environment Record'', retrieved 26 May 2022

Construction

By the early twentieth century, the church was too small for the increasing local Catholic population. Funds were raised by the priest, Canon Francis Green. He went to Newbury Racecourse railway station when there were races at

Newbury Racecourse Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's List of ...

to ask for money from people when they were leaving after the races. On 19 January 1926, the foundation stone was laid. The church was designed by Wilfred Clarence Mangan, an architect from Preston, who also designed the Church of Our Lady of Hal, Camden, English Martyrs Church, Reading, and the extension at St James's Church, Reading.

The Victorian Society The Victorian Society is a UK charity and amenity society that campaigns to preserve and promote interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and heritage built between 1837 and 1914 in England and Wales. As a statutory consultee, by la ...

Wilfrid Clarence Mangan
''A Biographical Dictionary of the Architects of Greater Manchester 1800 - 1940'', retrieved 26 May 2022 The builders were the local firm Hoskings & Pond Ltd. On 21 November 1928, the church was opened. The total cost was around £20,000. The old church on London Road became the

church hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use. In smaller and village communities, it is often a separate building near the church, while on more restricted urban sites ...

. On 18 June 1978, a new

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

in the church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by Anthony Emery, the Bishop of Portsmouth.

Services

St. Joseph's offers daily Mass and two Sunday Masses, at 8:30am and 11:00am.

References

External links